Loving Sky
by Kouko-chan
Summary: Sequel to Lost Sky. Tsuna suffers from Catharina's manifestations, but tries to convince himself that she's just his imagination's fruit. He doesn't want to make Gokudera suffer. Gokudera knows that something is wrong, but doesn't know what to do.
1. To protect him

It has been a while. I said that there would be a sequel to Lost Sky. :D

**Chapter 1: To protect him**

"Reborn-san, is Juudaime home? He didn't go to school today." Gokudera asked Reborn when he went to the Tenth's house.

"Oh, he just fled to somewhere before the sun rose. He didn't even change his trip clothes." The baby replied while watching a movie in the living room.

"Trip? Did he go somewhere?" Gokudera inquired anxiously, wondering the reason why his boss hadn't told him anything.

"Yes. He asked me to arrange a quick trip to Russia for him. He wanted to talk with Boris."

Hayato frowned after hearing that name. "What did Juudaime have to talk with him?"

"I just arranged the trip and the encounter, Dame Tsuna asked me to stay here."

"WHAT? YOU JUST LET HIM GO ALONE?" Gokudera was now exasperated. Reborn glanced at the other calmly and said with resignation:

"There are times when a tutor has to let the student make his own decisions. When Dame Tsuna decides he's ready to tell what is bothering him, I'll hear him out."

Hayato left the house after hearing that. _What's going on? Juudaime has been weird since that scary girl died and not even Reborn-san seems to be concerned! Why doesn't he talk to me? Why doesn't he trust me his problems? This is so frustrating!_

Gokudera kicked a light post in his way. He couldn't comprehend the situation and the distress was nearly killing him.

_I love him so much, why can't I do anything to cheer him up? I just want to help him, why won't he let me do it? Doesn't Juudaime like my company anymore? Did I offend him somehow? I just want to know what the problem is and fix it!_

Meanwhile, Tsuna was training in a nearby small forest by himself. After hours of pushing his body to its extremes, he fell on the ground, defeated by the terrible fatigue.

"Is this how you deal with stress, Great Sky?" The cursed female voice whispered; the young man closed his eyes and covered both his ears. However, he could feel that person sitting next to him, as if she was in the real world. Catharina's manifestations had grown stronger with the time, not being limited to Tsuna's dreams anymore.

"You're not real, Catharina! You're just a hallucination!" Tsuna stated.

"You've been telling yourself this everyday for the past month and it didn't stop me to keep appearing for you. To think you even visited my coward brother just to hear that I'm part of your imagination hurts me."

"DON'T PLAY WITH ME!" Tsuna shouted. "YOU DIED! BORIS-SAN SAID THAT THERE WAS NO WAY YOU COULD RETURN AND UNTIL NOW YOU'VE JUST SHOWED YOURSELF TO ME AND DONE NOTHING! YOU'RE NOT REAL!"

"If I'm part of your imagination, then why won't you search for medical help to get rid of me?" Catharina asked mockingly.

"Nobody needs to worry about me. I'll become strong enough to deal with you and protect everybody."

"That's right. The more you increase the power gap between you and the others, the closest you'll get to me."

The boy felt Catharina's hand caress his face. It was a too realistic sensation for him to convince himself that it wasn't real. But he couldn't stop denying it. He couldn't allow himself to acknowledge the reminiscence of the threat that almost led Gokudera-kun to his death. As long he, Tsuna, was the only person affected by that, he was satisfied.

"It's all to protect your Gokudera-kun, isn't it?" Catharina questioned sweetly. "Don't worry, my only interest is you. Soon we'll be together forever and nobody will break us apart."

"VANISH!" Tsuna screamed, starting to cry. He no longer felt the girl's presence, so he opened his eyes and sat. His shaking body got wet by his heavy tears.

_She's not real. Boris-san said so. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to make Gokudera-kun worried. I can deal with this by myself. Everything is alright with me. Gokudera-kun can be happy believing that there's nothing wrong at all. _


	2. Confrontation

Yay, thank you for the reviews. XD

**Chapter 2: Confrontation**

It was night and Gokudera was two blocks away from Tsuna's house, practicing.

"Juudaime, I know there's something wrong, so spit it out!" He yelled at a wall. "No! This is too aggressive!"

Gokudera ran his fingers through his hair, forced a smile and politely said to the wall: "Good night, Juudaime. You didn't go to school today, so I brought you your home work. Is there anything bothering you?"

Hayato sighed in frustration and yelled "I TALK LIKE THIS EVERYDAY, DAMN IT!"

He took a deep breath and asked to the wall:

"Juudaime, I'm worried about you. Please tell me what's going on."

"That's the best phrase."

"Thank yo-AHHH!" Gokudera turned around and saw Yamamoto standing two meters away, wearing his baseball uniform and smiling.

"You baseball freak, what are you doing here?"

"I just came back from-"

"I don't actually care, just leave me alone!"

Yamamoto observed Gokudera's pained and frustrated expression with deadly serious eyes.

"What has Tsuna done to cause you so much misery?"

"I-Idiot! Juudaime did nothing wrong! Don't you step on my business!" Hayato was infuriated and walked away from there. Yamamoto took the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Tsuna was in his bedroom with Reborn.

"It's not that I don't like that you're training, but you're not allowed to skip school again, Dame Tsuna." The hitman stated, sitting on the bed and looking at his student lying tired next to him; Tsuna's face was hid by the pillow.

"I'm sorry, Reborn. I lost track of time." Tsuna replied without enthusiasm. The arcobaleno felt his chest get tight.

"You should've already accepted that Catharina's death wasn't your fault. Didn't your conversation with Boris make you feel better?"

"REBORN!" Tsuna got up suddenly, trembling in anger. He didn't look at the hitman, though; the boy just walked to the door. "I'm totally fine, nobody needs to worry about me."

The Sky went downstairs and saw his mother letting Yamamoto enter.

"Tsu-kun, Yamamoto-kun wants to talk to you." She informed, happily. Tsuna noticed right away that Yamamoto didn't have his usual cheerful expression.

"Can it be somewhere else, Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked, nervously. Takeshi agreed and they left the house. They walked until a nearby park, where Yamamoto inquired:

"What are you hiding from us, Tsuna?"

"I-I'm not hiding anything." Tsuna replied a little scared.

"Don't lie! You've been acting weirdly lately, especially towards Gokudera. Do you have any idea how worried he is about you?"

Tsuna paled when he heard that. Yamamoto continued.

"Haven't we always helped you until today? What are you hiding from us? Why don't you talk to us? At least talk to Gokudera, damn it! That guy… he worships you so much!" Yamamoto clenched his fists and looked away. When he realized it, Tsuna was in hyper dying will mode and flew before he couldn't say anything.

The Tenth was holding his tears. He wasn't going to cry. His hyper intuition was almost screaming at him by that time. It was an obvious fact. He should have noticed it before.

Gokudera was in his apartment walking around the kitchen, thinking in how to approach his Tenth. Someone knocked on the door. Hayato, annoyed by the interruption, went to see who was disturbing him. However, when he opened the door, he saw his most beloved person standing there and crying.

"Juudaime? W-What happened?" The guardian of the Storm was now agitatedly trying to make his boss entering his apartment and talk about what was bothering him. Tsuna refused and stayed there.

"I don't want you to worry about me anymore, Gokudera-kun." Tsuna spoke fiercely, startling his right-hand man.

"What… are you saying?"

Gokudera's heart sank when he saw the cold expression on his boss's face.

"I don't want you to think about me anymore nor to feel anything about me. You must forget me or you won't be happy."

"JUUDAIME!" This time, Gokudera grabbed Tsuna by the shoulders. "What nonsense is this that you're saying? As if I could do that! How can you tell me that I won't be happy if I don't forget you? Have you lost your mind?"

In sorrow, Tsuna noticed his guardian's shaking hands. Gokudera was now facing the floor and letting huge tears fall on it.

"You are the air I breathe, Juudaime. You are my very reason to exist. You are my happiness. I-I can't do what you're asking me. Whatever the problem is; let me help you. I'll fight anyone at anytime! I'll explode everyone who upsets you! But don't ask me impossible things. I'd rather die than forgetting you."

Tsuna slapped Gokudera, for the Storm's shock.

"Stop being foolish, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna was now deeply angry. "You're brilliant, hard-working, and handsome! I am nothing compared to you! It's ridiculous that you worship me so much! In comparison to me, you're almost perfect! Find to yourself someone at your level, someone as good as you! Stop wasting your life and your beautiful feelings at a no-good guy like me! STOP BEING DEPENDED ON ME!"

Tsuna turned around to avoid looking at Gokudera's hurt expression and to hide his own eyes filled with water. He was about to leave.

"Forget about me. I'm ending this friendship for your own good."

"WAIT, JUUDAIME!" Hayato screamed in despair. He had to do something; otherwise he could lose that person. The thought of losing Tsuna made his heart burn in pain and Gokudera no longer had control over his emotions."I LOVE YOU, JUUDAIME, DON'T LEAVE ME!"

There was no reply.

"I love you so much, Juudaime. Please, don't leave. Please, tell me that all these things you just said were jokes. Don't cut ties with me! I'll be better for you! I'll work hard! I'll put all my effort to become a better right-hand man for you. But don't cut ties with me… I can't stand the thought… ugh… I-I can't… please, don't leave me… I beg you, don't leave me."

Gokudera's sobs were piercing Tsuna's heart, but he couldn't go back on his words now.

"No matter what I do, I'll keep hurting you, Gokudera-kun. Even if I try my hardest to protect you, I'll end up hurting you. I know that it hurts now… but it's the best for you."

"Don't go."

"Good-bye. Be happy."

"JUUDAIME, DON'T GO!"

Gokudera was paralyzed as his most beloved person flew into the sky. It had been so much time since he had felt so helpless and desperate.

He was alone.

Ten minutes later, Tsuna arrived at a mount, from where he could see Namimori at the distance. He hugged his knees and hid his face behind them. It didn't take long for him to feel _that person_ sitting by his side.

"I actually felt bad for him, Great Sky. But you did great. We, the strong ones, are better off without the weaklings." Catharina said triumphantly.

"Gokudera-kun is the sweetest and kindest person I've ever known. I won't allow anyone to insult him." Tsuna stated firmly. He lifted his head and looked at the girl, still crying. She was studying him with interest; Catharina was wearing a long white dress. Her presence was so strong that it was as if she was there for real.

"Your feelings are so noble, Great Sky. They make my heart beats faster." Catharina commented, getting closer to Tsuna and holding his hand.

"If you want, I can give myself to you, so you can take me anywhere and do whatever you want to me. I don't care anymore." Tsuna confessed, wiping the tears from his eyes with his other hand.

"Even if I took you to a place far away, stole all of your freedom and forbade you to see anyone you love?"

"Yes."

"Is this just how bad you're feeling after what you did to Gokudera Hayato?"

"…"

Catharina smiled widely.

"Don't you think I'm a hallucination anymore?"

"I don't care whether you're dead, alive, real or illusionary. I'll bet that you're real and that you still have power."

"You're going to ask me to use my power?" Catharina asked lightly serious. Tsuna looked into her eyes with great determination.

"I want you to make Gokudera-kun forget everything about me. If you do this, I'll be yours forever."


	3. Paradoxal skyless storm

I'm sorry for disappearing. I've been lacking confidence in my writing lately. I write in English to exercise it and I was feeling down about my lack of vocabulary and poor writing. But there were people asking me to keep writing, I'm glad to you. :)

Thanks for supporting this story.

**Chapter 3: Paradoxal skyless storm**

"WAKE UP, GOKUDERA!" the arcobaleno Reborn kicked the silver haired out of his bed. Hayato hit the floor startled.

"Reborn-san? What was that about?" The teenager questioned in confusion, getting up as he massaged his face.

"Tsuna didn't come home last night." Reborn informed in a cold tone. "Do you know something? Did he come here?"

"Tsuna?" Gokudera asked, not understanding the situation. "Is he a friend of yours?"

The hitman stared at the storm guardian in total disbelief. _Gokudera never jokes. And he wouldn't joke when Tsuna might be in danger._

"What happened to you, Gokudera?" The baby asked in a deadly serious tone.

"Nothing happened, Reborn-san." Hayato replied quickly. "Oh, by the way, is it today that I'm going to test that new student of yours?"

Meanwhile, Sawada Tsunayoshi was sitting on a big armchair in front of a three meters window that showed a snowy sky. The boy was wearing a luxurious white tuxedo. He stared at the flakes in amazement, without making any movement. Catharina came from behind him and stroked his hair gently; her pink dress danced as she moved.

"This is a beautiful world, isn't it? I created it just for us, my love."

Tsuna took the woman's hand gallantly and kissed it. He looked up and smiled to her. "It's not as beautiful as you are, my dear."

Catharina kissed the boy's forehead and muttered:

"You are happy now, right?" She asked in an anxious tone of voice.

"Was there ever a moment I wasn't happy?" Tsuna questioned, beaming. "We've been together since the beginning of times and we shall be together until the end of the world. My only purpose in life is to love you, Catharina."

The wind was stronger by the time Tsuna lifted from the armchair to embrace the girl. The sound of a tree's branches hitting the glass of the window caught his attention.

"A storm is coming." He said to himself, approaching the window in fascination.

"I won't let that happen!" Catharina affirmed aggressively, for Tsuna's surprise. "I won't let a storm take my sky from me!"

"You don't need to worry about the sky, my dear." The young man tried to comfort her, not knowing that she saw a different meaning in the words _storm_ and _sky _and unable to remember that those words had a special meaning in his forgotten previous life. "I like the sky better when it's stormy."

While the one once called Tenth was in that secret world, Gokudera was being examined by Shamal in his apartment. Reborn had also called the guardians – Hibari didn't come, though - and Biachi (who was wearing her goggles and sitting beside her brother, on the bed).

"Reborn-san, why are the pervert doctor and Aneki here? And who are the other people?" Hayato was getting annoyed at the strange situation he was in, especially because Shamal made the boy lie down to examine the young man's eyes with a little orange flashlight. "I already said that I'm fine, damn it! I have an important job to do for Reborn-san and the Vongola!"

"He really doesn't remember Boss." Chrome sighed with sadness. Riohey clenched his fists to the extreme, not noticing Lambo playing with his outifit's tail next to him. Yamamoto couldn't take his eyes away from Gokudera. The rain guardian was in deep sorrow.

"Gokudera," the rain guardian began to talk, "we're all your friends. Sometimes dangerous things happen and we have to fight, but we live happily most of the time. You… you must remember something, right? At least Tsuna… you adore him-"

"WHAT IS THAT IDIOT SAYING?!" Gokudera questioned in exasperation, standing up. "I DON'T HAVE FRIENDS! I DON'T ADORE ANYONE! DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK SUCH NONSENSE ABOUT ME! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT ME!"

"GOKUDERA!" Yamamoto, who had been in a chair beside the bed, stood up and grabbed the silver haired by the collar. However, he loosened the grip and his angered expression was gradually substituted by a sad one. "Don't you ever say that again, understood?!"

"It's not his fault that he has amnesia!" Bianchi defended Hayato. Shamal coughed to call the attention from the people in the room.

"I don't see any physical problem with him, but his memory was erased by someone with great power over the human mind. If I had to guess, I'd say it's the work of a Bakhtin."

"As I suspected!" Reborn stated, coming down from the desk where he had been the whole time. "Good thing I used the family's resources to bring that man here."

In that instant, a private jet was landing in Namimori's airport. Inside it, a young man wearing a light green coat was reading a book, surrounded by five men in tuxedos.

"I would imagine that if Vongola wanted to send its best illusionists to escort me, I at least would see Rokudo Mukuro or Dokuro Chrome doing the job." Boris Bakhtin sighed heavily. "If I wanted, I could take you all out in less than a second."

"But you agreed in helping, Reborn-san." A middle aged tall man, sitting next to Boris, replied slightly annoyed.

"Sometimes even the worst big brothers have to clean their little sisters' mess." Catharina's sibling explained without enthusiasm. "I have the feeling that this time I won't be left in peace unless I do something."


	4. The one who could make him happy

I'm sorry for the delay. Here's a new chapter.

**Chapter 4: The one who could make him happy**

"He's finally here!" Reborn said when knocks were heard on the apartment's door. Shamall opened it and let a well dressed young man walk in, thanking the escort and sending them away. "It has been a long time, hitman Reborn."

"Cut the little talk, Boris Bakhtin." Reborn let his anger be noticed in his voice. "Tsuna disappeared and Gokudera doesn't remember him at all! Explain!"

"I'm not the responsible for this, if that's what you're thinking." Boris had a controlled tone of voice. "Neither am I that powerful."

"But you are the last of the Bakhtins." Bianchi accused.

Boris sighed heavily before pulling a chair and preparing himself to explain the situation. "The only person powerful enough to drag someone to a psychic world and has the power to do that is Catharina."

Silence fell in the room.

"Catharina died." Reborn stated coldly.

"I know that."

"Are you saying she's a zombie?!" Riohey was scared.

"She's not a zombie, neither did she come back to life. A part of her was left in this world. Precisely, in the Tenth's mind." Boris explained.

"From an illusionist point of view, to cheat death and create worlds are not so hard to comprehend." Chrome said, timidly. "However the scale of what Catharina did… not even Mukuro-sama would be able to do it."

"The power of a Bakhtin is based on mist flames, and Catharina was the strongest user our family ever had. If she had let an impression strong enough in someone's mind, she could even cheat death." Boris was surprised by Chrome's intelligence in deducing the essence of his family's powers.

"You said that a part of her was left in Tsuna's mind, right?" Yamamoto questioned Boris. "How does that work? What is that impression?"

"A strong emotion. It must go both ways. My sister was obsessed by the Vongola Tenth, and he probably felt great guilt over her death. This created a connection between them and a path to a world where she could rebuild her existence was constructed. After that, to erase someone's memories is child's play." Boris tried to be the clearest possible. "That's just my theory, though."

"I see." Reborn's intuition was telling him that the man was being honest. "How do we go to the world Catharina built?"

"Theoretically speaking, if we add a third part that is compatible with the other two, I could try to throw that person in that world. But that's as far as my powers can make it." Boris sighed heavily, looking at Gokudera. " I suggest it to be someone who is precious to the Tenth and feared by my sister. Feared to the point she would erase his memories."

Everybody turned the head to look at the confused storm guardian.

"W-what?" He was struggling to understand the situation.

"It's you, Hayato. You're the only one who can save Tsuna." Bianchi held his hands to tranquilize him, but Gokudera pushed her away.

"Someone precious to this Vongola Tenth? Someone feared by this almighty woman?" Gokudera was visibly skeptical. "Don't joke around!"

"Gokudera, calm down!" Reborn ordered.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" The boy yelled. "Don't just come into my place and tell me that I lost my memory and that now I'm supposed to save someone I don't even know! Don't ask me to just calm down and accept this!"

"You're not sounding like yourself, Gokudera!" Riohey scolded. "Where's the man who would put all his effort into things?! Who would risk his life for his friends?!"

"WHAT'S THE POINT IN PUTTING EFFORT INTO THINGS OR HELPING OTHERS?!" Gokudera was now screaming. "THEY'LL JUST ABANDON OR REJECT ME! NO MATTER HOW HARD I TRY, I'LL NEVER, EVER BE ACCEPTED BY ANYONE! I DON'T KNOW WHAT MAKES ME KEEPING TRYING BUT I KNOW, DEEP DOWN, THAT THIS IS FRUITLESS! AND I WON'T TOLERATE PEOPLE LIKE YOU MAKING CRUEL JOKES LIKE… LIKE…"

"Gokudera, calm down!" Reborn ordered again. Hayato ran from the apartment before anyone could stop him. Yamamoto went after the young guardian.

Bianchi let a few tears drop. "It's been so long since Hayato met Tsuna." She said with her heart torn apart. "I forgot how he was before that… how much sadness he kept inside him."

Gokudera ran down the stairs, almost losing balance and falling if it weren't for Yamamoto to grab Hayato by the arm and pull the silver-haired closer to himself.

"What are you doing? Don't restrain me, you idiot!" Hayato tried to break free from Takeshi, but the baseball player wouldn't let him do it.

"I ask you that! What are you doing? Why are you so agitated and scared?" Yamamoto asked sadly. He just wanted to comprehend it.

"There's nothing wrong with me!"

"WHY ARE YOU CRYING, THEN?"

Gokudera froze at that statement. He touched his face and could feel the humidity. _I'm crying? But… I never cry. How can I be crying? Why?_

The guardian of the storm searched for his phone in the pocket of his pants and took a glance at his reflex on the screen, once he found the object. _Am I sick?_ His eyes were red and lifeless; his skin was white like a piece of paper. His head hurt and he could feel pain in his chest, as if there was a hole in it. He couldn't remember anything.

_Is there anything to remember?_

He had come to Japan with the only purpose to test the future Tenth head of Vongola. Reborn had told him that Sawada Tsunayoshi had great potential but lacked many things. Gokudera saw that as an opportunity to join a family, at least. But if he couldn't succeed, nothing would change, really. He had grown so used to the solitude that it almost didn't hurt anymore. At least that was what he liked to believe.

_Why do I feel so much pain? What is this feeling of emptiness? I stopped crying a long time ago. I was supposed to be strong now and not allow people to hurt me. What is causing this pain?_

"You could never forget him." Yamamoto stated with resignation. "Even if your mind does, your heart won't. I've been watching you for a long time. I've seen how you smile when you're with him, how you look at him as if he was the most perfect being in existence. I've seen how much you suffered for him… but even so he was still the person who would make you the happiest man in the world." Yamamoto finally let go of Gokudera. The athlete had sorrow in his eyes. "I can't say that I like that. I really wished… I really wished that you could just once look at me the way you look at Tsuna. I'm not angry though. In all honesty, the two of you are very precious to me. And I want your happiness more than anything in the world."

Gokudera was now feeling sad and guilty. The man in his front loved him. That handsome person loved him deeply and the silver-haired one knew that he would never be able to return those feelings. Why was that?

"There's someone else…" Gokudera proffered those words knowing that they were true. His green eyes grew wide at the realization. "I love someone else."

"I knew it." Yamamoto smiled. "You wouldn't forget your Juudaime even if you heart were to be separated from your body!"

"Juudaime? Heart?" The guardian of the storm repeated, frowning. Strange images flashed in his mind. There was someone on a table… and so much blood.

"Have you decided on what to do?" Boris was coming down the stairs, followed by Reborn. Hayato looked up to them. The arcobaleno commented: "It seems that you've chilled down."

"I don't remember who this Vongola Boss called Tsuna is." Gokudera confessed. "However… if this person really exists… if he is able to change me so much… I would like to meet him. What do I need to do?"

_His determination returned._ Boris acknowledged. "I'll show you the path."

The Russian man approached Gokudera and put both his hands over the boy's ears, closing his eyes right after. Hayato closed his own eyes too. "I just need to locate the path…" Boris whispered.

Yamamoto saw when the man frowned. "Is there something wrong?"

"IT'S TOO STRONG! IT'S PULLING ME TOO! WHY?"

In the blink of an eye, both Gokudera and the Russian man had vanished.


End file.
